Connecting the Insurance Ecosystem

The Rise of Generative AI Solutions in Insurance

Planck General Manager Leandro DalleMule brought us back to the world of online chess where super computers won over a human, one of the most memorable use cases of AI and covered the changing landscape of AI. As Leandro said, the “genie is out of the bottle.” AI is a disruptor in the industry that is here to stay, not a bubble. Generative AI is already being used to assist with tedious, time-consuming insurance tasks and remove inefficiencies from claims processes and fraud detection. Of course, Leandro covered some of the risks that can come with AI like hallucinations and the need to use it in a safe, controlled manner.

“My last message here is the genie is out of the bottle. I’ve heard a lot of things like regulation and slowing it down. Human in the loop is the solution. I treat my AI as an intern – trust and verify. Start using it in a safe, controlled manner.”

The Journey of a Founder

Jennifer Linton, Founder and CEO of Fenris Digital, shared personal stories from her startups, illustrating key life lessons. If you’re a startup or going through the transformation process, you may relate to the resilience roller coaster she shared with us. Her resilience roller coaster illustrated the ups and downs that entrepreneurs often experience, from things working to challenges, hope, fear of failure, positive feedback, and doubt. Know that resilience will get you through it, and your company will emerge from it more connected and successful.

“Try to think about the roller coaster rides where you start to climb the first hill, the hill of fear. And if you think about it, you remember what the attendant said to keep your arms and legs in at all times and have fun. That’s an important piece as well.”

Telematics Impact on Insurance

Matt Fiorentino, VP of Marketing at Cambridge Mobile Telematics, highlighted the number of distracted drivers and the impact that usage-based insurance programs offered by companies like his can make. Matt pointed out that 73% of people admit to using their phone while driving, and 24% of Americans admit to using Instagram while driving. He also had the good news to share that distracted driving dropped by six seconds from 2022 to 2023, and while that doesn’t sound like a lot, every second counts.

“We found that when drivers engage in the program, they all get safer. The riskiest drivers who engage in these programs reduce their level of distracted driving by 20% over the course of three months and reduce their chances of getting into a car crash or injury by 5.5%. This is huge.”

Start-Up Spotlight: Bridging the Gap Between the Virtual and the Physical World

Henriette Fleischmann, co-founder and CEO of Hosta A.I., shared how the company she founded during COVID is helping bridge the space between the physical world and the virtual world with spatial AI. She shared the use case of property damage, which typically would involve thousands of professionals assessing properties every day, which, as she mentioned, is a specialized skill set with limited resources. With the help of tools like Hosta A.I., property owners and insurance companies can save time during processes like property damage assessments and many other use cases.

“Picture this process. Here’s how we help. You call your carrier, your carrier sends you a link and instead of waiting for an adjuster, you just click on that link to take a couple of pictures of the damage. We are pre-populating an estimate by analyzing the images. Now the adjuster can settle the claim with you and you’re back home. It makes your life easier and saves the carrier a tremendous amount of money.”

Non-Profit Spotlight

Heather Kramer, COO of the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agents (MAIA), who represents over 1,100 independent agencies and more than 9,000 employees, discussed how the MAIA promotes insurance technology adoption and what solutions they'd like to see in the future. MAIA helps connect independent insurance agents of Massachusetts with advocacy, market access, marketing, education, and technical insights.

“Our whole mission is to strengthen and elevate the insurance agents throughout the state and we do that through a number of products and services.”